Virtually Pets

Our shelter had an open house last Saturday. Volunteers were honored for the hard work (which is actually quite joyful most of the time) in making the cats, dogs and bunnies adoptable and ready to go home. The number of pets going home from the shelter has risen steadily since Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) opened its doors but has taken an impressive uptick for the past four years. Simultaneously, the euthanasia numbers has gone down just as steadily (hurrah!), and so have impounds. Makes sense—the fewer animals taken in, the fewer have to be put to sleep.

Live release includes release to rescues and owners, pullout by spcaLA next door, and adoption. We all want those numbers to go in the right direction, and that’s where you come in. Cinderella still deserves to go to the ball, and there are a lot of princes and princesses in waiting left in the shelter kennels after spcaLA has pulled a number of them out. Here are five little heirs to someone’s throne and heart.

Here’s your chance to rescue a lovely cat whose former owners declawed him; allowed him to become, at 27 pounds, obscenely obese; and then abandoned him at 9 years old at ACS. He’s so big that he has to be housed in a traditional extra-large cage instead of one of the little condos!

If Davidson, for that is his name, can find a loving, sensible owner who will provide a good diet, room to roam and plenty of exercise, he’ll have a good number of future years to enjoy. He’s friendly, has beautiful spotted brown-tabby markings, and likes head scratches. Ask for ID# A603848.

Lazybones on a chilly winter’s day or a warm summer one! That’s Shhnuckums (what a name!). He’s another surrender by owner at 10 years old. It’s as if people with old animals want to trade them in on new models. Shelters aren’t “previously owned animal dealerships. could rail on about why people dump old pets, but I’d like to expend more energy on getting him to a loving home. His new person must understand his shy but affectionate personality—and be forever! Ask for ID# A603980.

Looking at Bophe now, you wouldn’t believe what she looked like when she came in. Bophe rhymes with trophy but she wouldn’t have one any prizes when she came in. This little cairn terrier—yet another owner surrender at 8 years old (sigh)—had cherry eye and a tumor, both of which were successfully treated by ACS’s medical staff. Look at her now! She’s so cute and playful beyond her years.

Dandelion is a 3-year-old boxer who came in as a stray. No one came for this sweet beauty, and what a shame.

I’m sure that she can do better—she loves hanging with people, is very good on leash, and knows “sit” and “stay.” She so enjoys ACS’s new Dog Play Yard! Ask for ID# A603664.

After Dandelion, we present Dapper Dan! This photogenic fellow was another stray (domestic bunnies are regularly dumped in parks, on campuses, and every wild or pseudo-wild are that exists, to often tragic results—read more here). As you can see, he’s ready for his close-up—with a loving person who’ll never let him hop off. Ask for ID#A603845.

All senior pets (7 and over) are eligible to get the best senior-meal deal in town for their new humans! Thai Silk on Broadway in Long Beach will offer $25 off a delicious meal to anyone who brings in the adoption papers within 30 days.

 

ACS is located in the P. D. Pitchford Companion Animal Village, 7700 East Spring Street (at entrance to El Dorado Park—no parking fee for Village guests), Long Beach. Go through entrance in above photo.

Things to Do, Pets to Support

Fix Long Beach Eat Your Veggies Fund-Raiser

Monday, March 5, 4:00PM–9:00PM, Veggie Grill, at Long Beach Marketplace, 6451 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach.

Menu prices apply; 33 percent of tab benefits Fix Long Beach

No one will need to force you to eat your nice vegetables at Veggie Grill, and the money you spend will help our local pets be healthy, too! Bring the flier above either printed or electronically, and mention the fund-raiser, and everyone wins!

Cosmic Brewery Presents Peanuts Adoption Paw-ty

Saturday, March 10, 2:00PM–6:00PM, Cosmic Brewery, 20316 Gramercy Place, Torrance

Adoption fees and menu prices apply

Come to Peanut’s big spread in honor of this little dog and whoever his new human will be! Peanut will be joined by other rescues with dogs up for adoption, so there will be party favors galore! We will be posting pictures and rescue names as they confirm. A new beer release—a peanut-butter stout brewed specifically for Peanut—will be on sale, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to k911resq, the organization to whom Peanut owes his good life.

St. Patty’s Day Pup Party Fund-Raiser

Thursday, March 15, 5:00PM–11:00PM, Tavern on 2, 5110 East Second Street, Long Beach.

Menu prices apply; $5 donation for each contest entered; 20 percent of the tab benefits Live Love Rescue

Get a little hair of the dog on early, and you can sleep it off during the usual day of havoc. This party promises to be full of luck and love. There will be good food (vegan/vegetarian/gluten-free available), strong drinks, appetizers and more. Enjoy contests like Kiss Me, I’m Irish (best dog kiss), Lucky Leprechaun (best costume), and Trick Me to the Pot o’ Gold (best pup trick), and enter the Paw-some Raffle and Super Silent Auction! All of this fun will benefit Live Love Animal Rescue!

Fix Long Beach Free Spay/Neuter Clinic

Saturday, March 17, 7:30AM–3:00PM, Scherer Park, 6430 E 49th Street (enter from Del Amo Boulevard across from the YMCA), Long Beach

Spay/neuter free with appointment and qualifications; vet appointment with voucher, minimal charge for dogs and cats; flea meds $10; shots and dewormer $10 each; nail trimming, $10

It’s now the law to fix your pets in Long Beach and many Southern California cities. To provide this costly service to our Long Beach residents who otherwise couldn’t afford it, Fix Long Beach offers this service free of charge. The spay/neuter truck will be at its new location at Scherer Park on this date.

Make an appointment through IM or email at [email protected] for your dog, and include (1) your name, (2) address, (3) phone number, (4) dog’s name, (5) age, (6) sex, (7) breed, and (8) weight, and Fix will see if they can schedule you. You can also come as a standby, but be there at 8:30AM. Make sure that your pet has had nothing to eat or drink past 10:00PM the previous night.

To donate, visit our page. In-kind donations such as leashes, collars and toys can be brought to our event or ordered through our Amazon wish list.

For both spay/neuter and vaccinations, all dogs must be on sturdy leashes and all cats must be in dedicated carriers. Fix thanks you in advance for being responsible for your pet’s health and for helping to reduce shelter overpopulation and euthanasia.

Raiden’s Luck of the Rescue St. Patty’s Day Party

Saturday, March 17, 1:00PM–4:00PM, The Hounds Grounds, 6021 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach

$5 entry; buy tickets here 

Celebrate a rescue and a life with a party—food, drinks and fun! Let’s start by saying that with the most wonderful, most amazing, loving forever foster family, this boy has had a new lease on life that many don’t have the opportunity to enjoy. Raiden was given two to four months of life, but on this day, we joyously celebrate an entire year! If Raiden could talk, he’d tell you that having cancer and being blind hasn’t gotten in his way—he’s enjoying a great life filled with play, walks, parks, dog play dates and an abundance of love. Without the extraordinary relentless efforts of K9 Kismet‘s life-saving pull, none of this would have happened. This festival is for humans only—please don’t bring your doggies!

 

Drag Queen Bingo Fund-Raiser for Fix Long Beach

Sunday, May 6, 4:00PM–7:00PM, Paradise Bar and Restaurant, 1800 East Broadway, Long Beach

Bingo cards $1 and up; menu and bar prices apply

Grandma’s bingo parties were never like this unless your grandma was your grandfather upon occasion. Hostesses Mia Farrow and Sabrina will be there to spur on the clients to help Fix Long Beach help local pets! Bingo cards and blotters available at the door; great prizes, awesome food and drinks.

Furry Friends Faire

Saturday, May 19, 10:00AM–1PM, Los Cerritos Park, 3750 Del Mar Avenue (across from Los Cerritos Elementary School), Long Beach

Free to attend

Don’t miss our all-things-animal event! We’ll have fun contests to enter your furry friends in, such as pet tricks, largest pet, smallest pet and most unusual pet. The poetry-award winners from Los Cerritos Elementary students will be reading their poems. We’ll have an array of service providers you can meet at the event for your pets: groomers, trainers, pet food, dog walkers and more! For more information and updates, visit us here!

Ongoing

Kitty Catchers Adoption Event

Saturdays and Sundays, 11:00AM–3:30PM both days, PetSmart, 2550 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill

Despite the name, Kitty Catchers catches doggies, too, and some will be there along with the lovely fosters at this event! You’ll find your best friend there and anything else you’ll need to give him or her a good life from then on.

Pet Adoption Event at PFE

Saturdays and Sundays, Pet Food Express, 4220 Long Beach Boulevard, Long Beach

Adoption fees apply

Find your new BFF and everything that he or she could possibly want or need, in one place. Long Beach Animal Care Services (ACS) and other rescues bring great cats and dogs ready to go home with their new people. Everything is high quality at Pet Food Express, and that includes the adoptive pets! Check out the Cat Adoption Center, featuring fine felines from Long Beach Animal Care Services and Stray Cat Alliance. For more information about which rescues will be present on any particular day, follow this link.

SNP/LA Mobile Low-Cost Pet Vaccines

Locations and dates vary; visit link in text

For low-cost vaccines, visit this link. Note that pet owners must be 18 years or older, all pets must be on leashes or in carriers, and only healthy and non-pregnant animals will be vaccinated. Please bring prior vaccination information with you to the clinic. Vaccination and microchip services are provided for pets residing in any city. Licensing is provided for residents within our jurisdiction at Saturday clinics; please bring your renewal notice and rabies certificate with you. Low/cost spay/neuter information is also available through SNP/LA.

Free Pet Food Distributions

Papa, a big “teddy bear’ of a dog, sits with his human in Ashlee’s Pet Care station at Beacon for Him.

Beacon for Him has extended an outreach for people experiencing homelessness and their pets. Pet food, primarily dog food, is available at their facility at 439 West Anaheim Street, Mondays from 9:00AM to noon and Saturdays from noon to 3:00PM. A dog-washing station with a stainless-steel tub is also available onsite at these hours. Donations and supplies such as shampoo, flea control and, of course, pet food are always gratefully accepted.

The Pet Food Bank is sponsored by Christian Outreach in Action. COA is located at 515 East 3rd Street, Long Beach. Hours are Thursday from 9:00AM to 11:00AM.

 

Shelter-Enrichment Supplies Needed for ACS Dogs and Cats!

Drop-off: Wednesdays through Fridays, 10:00AM–5:30PM and Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00AM–4:00PM, 7700 East Spring Street, Long Beach

Individual donations requested

ACS is continuing our kennel enrichment activities for our canine guests here and could use so more donations (there are plenty for the cats!). Here is what’s needed:

• creamy peanut butter
• yogurt
• beef broth (canned or in the box)
• chicken broth (canned or in the box)
• incense
• carabiner clips (heavy duty)
• ice cube trays
• pipe cleaners
• toilet paper/paper towel rolls
• cat toys
• corks from bottles (for cat toys)
• catnip
• canned cat and dog food

Donations are tax deductible. Our pups and kitties say thanks so much!